Laura Kavanaugh has announced that she is resigning as FDNY commissioner.
She released a statement that said her “dedication to the FDNY has never and will never waver.”
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to devote the last 10 years – five as first deputy commissioner and more than two as commissioner – to advocating for the men and women of the FDNY,” it said in part. “While the decision I have made over the last month has been a hard one, I’m confident that it is time for me to pass the torch to the next leader of the finest Fire Department in the world.”
She said that she would spend the next several months “assisting the department’s transition in leadership, before embarking on my next professional challenge.”
James Brosi, president of the FDNY Uniformed Fire Officers Association, released a statement:
"We look forward to working with the new commissioner. An agency as dynamic and vital as the FDNY requires strong leadership that adapts to the ever-changing risks we face on the fireground. The next commissioner must immediately prioritize the plague of lithium-ion battery fires, an increase in cancer diagnoses for firefighters, and a concerning increase in fire-related deaths.”